After 15 years and billions of dollars "reconstruction remains tenuous and incomplete," Sopko said in his report. "The Afghan security forces need continued donor support, plus mentoring and limited tactical support from the U.S. military, to block insurgent advances," he also said. Last week, Afghanistan's Defence Ministry spokesman said insurgents launched 19,000 attacks in the last 10 months compared to about 700 counter-insurgency operations carried out by Afghan Security Forces in the same time. Forces Afghanistan, SIGAR said that figure represents a loss of territory for the government that previously controlled 63.4 per cent of its country. It's estimated that in 2016 Afghan farmers produced about 4,800 tons of opium from the poppy plant.

Source: CBC News February 01, 2017 07:39 UTC